Cardinals Head to Chapel Hill to Take On Tar Heels

Friday, March 20

Chapel Hill, N.C.

8:00 PM

University of Louisville

North Carolina

The Cardinals huddle before playing Notre Dame.

Photo by: Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics

March 19, 2026 | Baseball

By: Stephen Williams

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville baseball team heads on the road to take on North Carolina in a three-game series beginning Friday night at 8 p.m. ET. The Friday game will be televised on ACC Network, with the final two games on ACC Network Extra. 93.9 The Ville will have radio coverage on Friday and Sunday, while Saturday's game can be heard on 96.1/1450 WXVW.

A WEDNESDAY ROUT
Louisville finished off its 14-game homestand with a 16-1 seven-inning victory over Northern Kentucky on Wednesday. Tague Davis hit his ACC-leading 12th homer of the season, while Alex Alicea had a three-run inside-the-park homer.

SURGING AT THE PLATE
The Louisville offense has been on a roll over the last nine games, scoring 125 runs (13.9 per) on 138 hits (15.3 per). The Cardinals are hitting .433 as a team with 55 extra-base hits. Louisville is 8-1 over the time with five mercy-rule victories.

NORTH CAROLINA SERIES HISTORY
Louisville is 9-13 all-time against North Carolina. The Cardinals took 2-of-3 from the Tar Heels in Louisville last season. However, Louisville has lost six straight in Chapel Hill.

TEAM NOTES

UofL is 62-39-2 in its 102 all-time ACC series (one series ended 1-1, one ended 1-1-1) since joining the league and is 69-31-1 in its series finales during that span, including a 25-18-1 record in rubber games.
The Cards have tallied double-digit hits in nine straight contests and 11 of the last 12.
Entering the weekend, the Cardinals rank top 6 nationally in batting average, hits, runs, runs per game, slugging percentage, on-base percentage and triples.
Louisville had just one home run with multiple runners on base in the first 15 games of the season. The Cardinals hit six such homers in two games against Marshall – four three-run, two grand slams – and then added a three-run homer versus Notre Dame and Northern Kentucky.
The Cards had nine offensive innings with at least seven runs scored last season. Louisville already has seven this spring.

PLAYER NOTES

Tague Davis set the Louisville freshman home run record with 18 long balls in his first season. The first baseman tied for the ACC regular season lead in home runs and was the first Louisville freshman to hit double-digit homers since Alex Binelas in 2019. Davis
homered in five consecutive games from March 6-11, joining Mark Jurich in 2004 as the only Cards to homer in five straight since 2000. Davis heads into the weekend as the national leader in RBIs at 48 after driving in 17 in five games last week. The sophomore is also third nationally in total bases, fifth in home runs and sixth in hits, leading the ACC in all four categories.
Zion Rose led the Cardinals last season with 67 RBIs and ranked fourth in the ACC in stolen bases, fifth in RBIs, fifth in triples, seventh in runs, 11th in hits and 12th in total bases. The Chicago native was one of just three players in 2025 to have 10 homers, 15 doubles, 30 stolen bases and 60 RBIs. However, Rose missed the first 15 games of this season with an injury. He returned last week and hasn't skipped a beat. Rose has gone 15-for-24 (.625) with three doubles, a triple, two homers, 15 RBIs, 14 runs scored and four stolen bases in six games.
Griffin Crain missed the 2025 season due to injury, but is making the most of the start to his career on the field this spring. Crain is leading the team with a .483 average, which is fourth nationally, and is second with 28 RBIs after going 9-for-11 in the last three games. The sophomore has been clutch as well, delivering a go-ahead double that proved to be the game-winner against Nebraska as well as a walk-off single in game two against Central Michigan.
Ben Slanker turned in an All-MAC season at Ohio in 2025, hitting .302 with 21 homers and 69 RBIs. He homered in each of the first two games of the season, but struggled to the tune of 1-for-16 from Feb. 15 through March 8. He found his form again last week however, going 7-for-16 (.438) in five games with four homers and 16 RBIs.
Kade Elam came to Louisville with big expectations, ranked as a top 100 player nationally in the 2025 class. The freshman got off to a slow start, sitting with a .195 average through the first 13 games. Elam has found his groove recently though, coming into the weekend on an 11-game hitting streak, going 18-for-33 (.545) with four doubles, his first career homer and 10 runs scored.
Bayram Hot split time at second base in 2025 in his first season with the Cardinals after transferring from Marist, hitting .326 with three doubles and three homers in 92 at-bats. The senior has started all 21 games this spring at third base and has been excellent at the plate. Hot has already surpassed his 2025 totals for runs, hits, doubles, walks and stolen bases, and matched his home run total.
Aaron England made just five appearances in 2025, recording just 4.1 innings on the mound. He's been thrust into a major role in the bullpen this spring, however, having been called upon to close out victories over Nebraska, Eastern Kentucky, Central Michigan, Seton Hall and Notre Dame. England has not given up a run in those outings, recording his first collegiate win and first three saves.